Saturday, December 1, 2012

Canada’s economy in a stall, StatsCan reports

There’s every chance we’ll have at least a technical recession in the fourth quarter given these statistics:

“The economy slumped to 0.6 per cent in the third quarter — below even the gloomy 0.8 consensus and about one-third what the Bank of Canada had predicted as recently as the summer — as trouble loomed on the export side, housing and business investment….

In addition, Statistics Canada revised downward the second quarter one notch to 1.7 per cent and September, the last month, was flat, meaning the handoff to the current fourth quarter was weak… The big shock in the third quarter report was that business investment, which the central bank has been counting on to support the economy, fell two per cent per cent annualized, and residential construction dived 4.4 per cent…As expected, net trade also weighed heavily on the economy in the third quarter as exports plunged 7.8 per cent on weak global demand and soft commodity prices.”

Only Christmas consuming will save the economy, he said facetiously. It will be amusing to see what propagandistic spin Flaherty and Co. put on this one. One thing's for sure: he won't ever admit that the neoliberal growth model is failing.

About Me

Deeply concerned about the vulnerability of the biosphere, the erosion of our democratic federal institutions, and the frightening power of corporations. I've been appalled for a few years now. Maybe it's time to get outraged/indignados